Quelle excitation! A few days ago, Suji got the first-page feature in a Japanese dog magazine. The Aiken No Tomo profile offered insight into her past (rescued a little over a year and a half ago), ailments (some rear leg weakness), likes (treats and walks), dislikes (vacuum cleaners and loud noises), and her Instagram page…
Weird Food Purchase of the Day = Bitter Melon Chips! Osaka home cooked breakfast. "I wore pants for you guys". Hibiya Park, Pizza Seirinkan, J.P. Hevin, pet spa, museums. The streets of Shinjuku on a holiday weekend. Tokyo street musicians. And this one's for Jodelle!
Posting all the pics that didn't make the blog while I was in Japan... We visited a "space" exhibit in Ginza. This paper cut-out display challenged you to discover three contrary cut-outs in the crowd: a child, a woman with an umbrella, and a cat. I found the woman with the umbrella and think I…
I always found it interesting that, despite the crazy amount of food I would eat every time I visited Japan, I would return home actually lighter than when I left. At first, I assumed it was because I'd lost heavier muscle mass and gained comparatively lighter body fat BUT when I started measuring said body…
Good morning! The hotel (Intercontinental) upgraded us to a suite complete with kitchen so we took advantage by picking up some items at the local farmers' market and shops and making breakfast. Giant figs, two types of dried mushrooms, Okinawa sea salt, garlic & thyme olive oil, three types of dried pepper, local honey, local…
September 11th back west but the 12th here. This blog entry comes to you from the future! So, the fallout from Friday night's Dark Matter double-header continues to resonate. I'll hold off talking about it until our international fans have had a chance to catch up but, suffice it to say, if you found the ending of…
Well, this marks the first year in over a decade that I won't be visiting Japan. 🙁 Here are some of the new or limited-time-only culinary marvels I'll be missing... The Aka Samurai Burger! You have a choice of fried chicken or a beef patty served with lettuce, tomato and "red" cheese served in a…
Tokyo! Tsukiji Market! Tea Ceremony in Osaka! Check out the first installment of Akemi's Japan vlog: Next time, let's make it a group vacation. Who's in?!!
We were standing at the hotel reception, purchasing our tickets for the shuttle bus that would take us to the airport. The middle-aged Caucasian guy beside us was purchasing a ticket of his own. "What's your room number?"asked the staff member. The guy looked around anxiously, then leaned in conspiratorially and whispered his room number.…
Today, we had plans to meet up with our friend, Nihei, for a yakitori lunch but, unfortunately, a last minute meeting derailed those yakitori plans - and sent us to Butagumi, my favorite tonkatsu restaurant, instead! Tucked away in a little side street in Nishi-Azabu, the rustic restaurant offers varieties of tonkatusu (golden-fried pork cutlets)…
I finally hit the wall. Mark the date and time: September 17th at 7:23 p.m. That is, officially, when I stopped being hungry. Yep, I'm done. At this point, I'm just going to reduce my portions to the point where I can simply wean myself off food. Today, I met up with my oldest friend…
No. No! Day #7?!!! It's almost over! In a matter of days, I'll be back in Vancouver, scrambling to plan and pack and make my way to Toronto for a seven month stay - one month of advance prep in which we'll be filling out the director's schedule, approving designs, hiring DOP's and editors, start…
Seriously. My vacation is short enough without my misplacing days! Last night, Akemi and I hit the basement food level of the Mitsukoshi department store where we picked up a variety of tasty treats. Tokyo street fashion. I gotta get me one of those for Toronto. Our dinner haul. My favorite was the cutlet and…
On our last night in Osaka, we joined Akemi's family for dinner at Le Comptoir de Benoit, an Alain Ducasse restaurant on the 33rd floor of the Breeze Building in Nishi-Umeda. We had counter seats which allowed us an unobstructed view of the open kitchen, allowing us to take in the culinary theatrics while we…
Last night, I turned in at a nice and early 10:00 p.m. As a result, I woke up this morning at a less nice and early 3:50 a.m. I dozed on and off, cobbling together about another hour in catnaps, before sitting bolt upright at 8:15 a.m. with the realization we had a tea ceremony to…